A different kind of trigger-happy

If you are on Facebook or Twitter, you've been exposed (whether willingly or unwillingly) to other people's pictures of their friends, children, pets, vacations. Albums filled with photos like these are usually a welcome distraction from a boring day at work, and are an easy way to get updates on someone's life.

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By MADDIE DRAKE

capecodtimes.com

By MADDIE DRAKE

Posted Sep. 3, 2012 at 2:15 AM

By MADDIE DRAKE

Posted Sep. 3, 2012 at 2:15 AM

» Social News

If you are on Facebook or Twitter, you've been exposed (whether willingly or unwillingly) to other people's pictures of their friends, children, pets, vacations. Albums filled with photos like these are usually a welcome distraction from a boring day at work, and are an easy way to get updates on someone's life.

But with the recent popularity of Instagram, an application for phones that allows users to quickly snap a single photo and share it instantly with friends, the kinds of photos published on Facebook and Twitter are changing. I've noticed a rise in the relentless documentation of extremely mundane things like new haircuts, items bought at the mall, and — this is a big one — meals that friends have cooked or ordered at restaurants. Don't get me wrong: I don't mind seeing the delicious mushroom-cauliflower-chicken omelet that you had for breakfast. Occasionally though, I will see pictures that make me question if some material is too expository to be published online. Shots of strangers in weird outfits, drunken friends passed out on the floor, and particularly rude servers at a restaurant are some examples of these kinds of photos.

Instagram pictures are often light and fun. They can provide a delightfully raw look into other people's private lives. But they are also on the cusp of becoming far too invasive, and the thrill of uploading a dramatic shot is starting to overpower our ability to empathize with our subjects.

The recent violence at the Empire State Building exemplifies the thin line between what is appropriate to post online and what is in poor taste. Immediately after the shooting, bystanders on the street snapped pictures of the police, passersby and even the sidewalk where a victim lay bleeding. Instagram itself created a page that highlighted some shots from the tragedy. Many of these pictures were uploaded before most people — including the victims' families — even knew about the crime.

One "Instagrammer" defended his picture, saying that it was within his rights to capture whatever was around him at any time. In a way, he's correct: in a nonprofessional situation, one can take a picture out in public and not have to credit the subjects of the shot. But the ability to snap a picture and share it instantly with hundreds of thousands of people seems to have gone to our heads and left our hearts disconnected from whatever our lens is pointed at. The sleeping woman on the subway might look funny, but she would be embarrassed to see the picture you took, and probably mortified to find that it was shared online among hundreds of people. Your intoxicated friend might be having a great time dancing on a table, but he may not feel comfortable knowing a picture of him doing so was going to remain in your phone. And does your co-worker know that you "Instagrammed" a picture of her at her desk with a caption complaining about her loud breathing?

As technology gets more pervasive in our lives, we need to be aware of the fact that not everything needs to be captured, shared or discussed. Before hopping on the Instagram bandwagon and uploading brag-worthy pictures that we think will impress our friends, we need to reflect on what kinds of pictures are more sensitive than others and how our subjects would react if they saw the final product.

There is no denying that platforms like Instagram are here to stay, at least until a newer and better model comes out. But we must respect and remain sensitive to the emotions in every shot we capture, and understand that the right to privacy is a basic human need. In the long run, living in a completely depersonalized society is not worth a few shocking photographs.

Maddie Drake of Sandwich, a rising senior at UMass Amherst, is a Times summer intern. Email her at madelfem.d@gmail.com.